Random set of the day: Shell Service Station
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6378 Shell Service Station, released during 1986. It's one of 26 Town sets produced that year. It contains 291 pieces and 2 minifigs, and its retail price was US$25.5, which equates to about US$76 in today's money.
It's owned by 3,575 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you should find it for sale at Brick Owl, BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $600.00, or eBay.
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53 comments on this article
So does this Shell sell seashells down by the seashore?
While 6394 will always be the greatest gas station LEGO ever released, this one has a special place in my heart. I remember building this set with my dad and brother when I was just six years old.
This is one my my favorites and one of my first town sets. I rebuilt it a few years ago and boy did it bring back memories.
So...many...stickers...
A product of its time. Still looks good in the Classic Town display area.
I absolutely love this set and played with it so much growing up. Awesome to see it again!
The old jacks were the best.
I must say it looks modern for a 40 year old set, and the truck looks beautiful in those colors.
One of my white whales.
@MCLegoboy said:
"So does this Shell sell seashells down by the seashore?"
This Shell oil spills by the seashore
@N1ckBr1x said:
"While 6394 will always be the greatest gas station LEGO ever released, this one has a special place in my heart. I remember building this set with my dad and brother when I was just six years old."
6394 was the first big set I ever had. Wonderful. This one looks also amazing :)
Although I prefer 6397 Gas n' Wash Station, this one's just... refined. The top of the pumps is tiled! And the color blocking is wonderfully done. It uses a lot of stickers though. But a great set for the time.
Also, petrol pump stations haven't been the same without baseplates.
Needs more Shell branding, you can barely see what this set is about.
@Binnekamp said:
"Although I prefer 6397 Gas n' Wash Station, this one's just... refined. The top of the pumps is tiled! And the color blocking is wonderfully done. It uses a lot of stickers though. But a great set for the time.
Also, petrol pump stations haven't been the same without baseplates."
Lego hasn't been the same without baseplates.
@yellowcastle said:
"One of my white whales."
From Shell's heart I stack at thee, for plate's sake bricks click their last studs on thee.
291 pieces.
For a complete service station and vehicle and baseplate.
291 pieces.
Let that sink in for a moment.
These days such a set would be five times the pieces, yet only be a tiny facade and of course wouldn't include a baseplate.
I know why I prefer the olden days.
@MCLegoboy said:
"So does this Shell sell seashells down by the seashore?"
I would rather expect them to service the three seashells at your toilet.
@AustinPowers said:
"291 pieces.
For a complete service station and vehicle and baseplate.
291 pieces.
Let that sink in for a moment.
These days such a set would be five times the pieces, yet only be a tiny facade and of course wouldn't include a baseplate.
I know why I prefer the olden days. "
For 291 pieces, you would have a not quite complete tow truck - but it would be 6-wide and very detailed with tons of colours that do not belong to the vehicle colour scheme.
It’s such a fantastic set, managed to get it couple years back with the box as well.
I have a soft spot for Shell branded sets in 80’s town, all of them offer such fantastic play options
Oh, the memories. Wow. My brother owned this one and we had so much fun with it when we were kids. He passed away two years after receiving it. I have a LEGO carrying case with a bunch of parts from the set and the baseplate is at my parents' home.
I believe I got this for my 5th birthday. My parents knew there was no way not to buy this for me, as I learned to beg professionally very early.
I put a GEN002 minifg inside for display.
@N1ckBr1x said:
"While 6394 will always be the greatest gas station LEGO ever released, this one has a special place in my heart. I remember building this set with my dad and brother when I was just six years old."
I had never seen this one before, as I was not born yet in the 80s. This set is just amazing! Truly the golden years.
For people missing the shell licence, Cada do reasonably good Shell sets with a large range and decent prices. Except perhaps the large petrol station which is quite expensive. Cada are fairly good quality now, better than a few years ago
A great busy set, just needs a few cars to service and an accompanying garage for the truck to drop the broken-down cars. I'm guessing as this was before banana, croissant, ice-cream pieces the shop just sells spare tires, with or without hubs?
Still one of my favorites!
@AustinPowers said:
"291 pieces.
For a complete service station and vehicle and baseplate.
291 pieces.
Let that sink in for a moment.
These days such a set would be five times the pieces, yet only be a tiny facade and of course wouldn't include a baseplate.
I know why I prefer the olden days. "
So you would pay 75 dollars for this set then?
@Lego_lord said:
"I must say it looks modern for a 40 year old set, and the truck looks beautiful in those colors. "
I honestly thought this was VSotW for a few minutes before I realized it had minifigs.
@paulrothwell said:
"For people missing the shell licence, Cada do reasonably good Shell sets with a large range and decent prices. Except perhaps the large petrol station which is quite expensive. Cada are fairly good quality now, better than a few years ago"
The cool thing about the Shell licence was that it was something you knew from real life. Once you grew up, you became aware that petrochemical companies arent't the nicest out there, so there's not that much to miss.
Childhood set,
In the 80's LEGO was at it's PEAK! Seeing what what was possible with the parts available.
There is soooo much here with soooo little stuff. Fabulous!!!!!!
@Dean_Dingus_2000 said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"291 pieces.
For a complete service station and vehicle and baseplate.
291 pieces.
Let that sink in for a moment.
These days such a set would be five times the pieces, yet only be a tiny facade and of course wouldn't include a baseplate.
I know why I prefer the olden days. "
So you would pay 75 dollars for this set then?"
So, if you had the option, you would rather buy 43023 then this set?
@BelgianBricker said:
" @Dean_Dingus_2000 said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"291 pieces.
For a complete service station and vehicle and baseplate.
291 pieces.
Let that sink in for a moment.
These days such a set would be five times the pieces, yet only be a tiny facade and of course wouldn't include a baseplate.
I know why I prefer the olden days. "
So you would pay 75 dollars for this set then?"
So, if you had the option, you would rather buy 43023 then this set?
"
Apples and oranges ...
While I do agree that older playsets generally made much better use of their pieces in the sense of the play value you get for the piece count, old prices corrected for inflation weren't always that great
Display sets for adults are just something else.
This was Christmas morning 1986 for me. I loved the jack piece and I'm amazed we have no modern version of it.
my only set in my own built town when i was a kid, only thing i have now is those round grey piece from the pumps
I thought TLG didn't do religious buildings?
I don't miss this brand. Shell are a bunch of scumbags. The only thing I object to, is that TLG cut this partnership due to poor optics, while still happily aligning themselves with Neom and Aramco.
*Gulfclap*
I brick built a generic gas station since I didn't have one, but my wife has 6375-2: Exxon Gas Station. Now that Octan moved in and monopolized the gas industry, these types of stations are not common. Been a while since Octan setup a new station for our cities.
Quite the difference in design from 6 years.
@markisnot said:
"I brick built a generic gas station since I didn't have one, but my wife has 6375-2: Exxon Gas Station. Now that Octan moved in and monopolized the gas industry, these types of stations are not common. Been a while since Octan setup a new station for our cities.
Quite the difference in design from 6 years. "
Wait, what? Are you and your wife both building separate cities? Do they connect?
@AustinPowers said:
"291 pieces.
For a complete service station and vehicle and baseplate.
291 pieces.
Let that sink in for a moment.
These days such a set would be five times the pieces, yet only be a tiny facade and of course wouldn't include a baseplate.
I know why I prefer the olden days. "
It’s _still_ just a tiny facade. It’s also empty.
I thought for a second that my brother and I had this one when we were young, but looking a bit closer I am fairly certain the one we had was 377 instead.
@N1ckBr1x said:
"While 6394 will always be the greatest gas station LEGO ever released, this one has a special place in my heart. I remember building this set with my dad and brother when I was just six years old."
I had both also and this one was my first base plate set.
@markisnot said:
"I brick built a generic gas station since I didn't have one, but my wife has 6375-2: Exxon Gas Station. Now that Octan moved in and monopolized the gas industry, these types of stations are not common. Been a while since Octan setup a new station for our cities.
Quite the difference in design from 6 years. "
I mean, Octan's also shifting towards electric power.
Oh wow, I remember I got this set in a trade with a guy on rec.toys.lego! And it's still built in my town, although I have modified it a lot over the years. I would never go to a Shell station in real life (they're always about ten cents / gallon more expensive then everyone else), but this is a great set and a great example of the simple charms of classic Lego town.
I vividly remember when I got this set as a kid, sitting in the car, lifting the box flap, and looking at all the pieces under the plastic, excited to tear into it as soon as I got home. It's still one of my very favorite sets.
I never had this set, but I did (and still do!) have an earlier Shell Service Station - set 377
@Brickalili said:
" @MCLegoboy said:
"So does this Shell sell seashells down by the seashore?"
This Shell oil spills by the seashore"
No, you're thinking of the oil from 6375-2.
In my Legoland town, only two gas stations exist; this Shell station and the 6375 Exxon Gas Station from circa 1980. My Shell station cost $22.78 at Sears (let the sink in!) and got a complete play experience and road plate for that price. Plus. the boxes back then contained the plastic dividers and inserts for the special pieces, and mine is complete. My 46 year old Exxon station is still looking good, even the decals after all these years, although I have begun to slowly replace some of the white pieces due to yellowing from age. Cannot get away from that.
Is there a pattern here? Two classic town sets in a row. Regardless, I like it.
This is the first "big set" I remember receiving as a kid - a gift from my grandma! It will always hold a super special spot in my heart.
@calculus_teacher said:
"In my Legoland town, only two gas stations exist; this Shell station and the 6375 Exxon Gas Station from circa 1980. My Shell station cost $22.78 at Sears (let the sink in!) and got a complete play experience and road plate for that price."
Federal minimum wage in 1986 was $3.35/hr. Once you pay income taxes, that’s at least a full 8hr day of work. Let that sink in.
@Dean_Dingus_2000 said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"291 pieces.
For a complete service station and vehicle and baseplate.
291 pieces.
Let that sink in for a moment.
These days such a set would be five times the pieces, yet only be a tiny facade and of course wouldn't include a baseplate.
I know why I prefer the olden days. "
So you would pay 75 dollars for this set then?"
Actually the RRP of this set would be about equivalent to 75 Dollars today.
And yes, I would pay it any day of the week, because it's more than worth it. Contrary to many of today's sets in that price bracket.
And don't compare with the F1 helmets. Apples and oranges indeed.
@Eichinger said:
" @N1ckBr1x said:
"While 6394 will always be the greatest gas station LEGO ever released, this one has a special place in my heart. I remember building this set with my dad and brother when I was just six years old."
6394 was the first big set I ever had. Wonderful. This one looks also amazing :)"
For me, 6394 was also the first big set I had! So many hours with it!!
@Kynareth said:
" @markisnot said:
"I brick built a generic gas station since I didn't have one, but my wife has 6375-2 : Exxon Gas Station. Now that Octan moved in and monopolized the gas industry, these types of stations are not common. Been a while since Octan setup a new station for our cities.
Quite the difference in design from 6 years. "
Wait, what? Are you and your wife both building separate cities? Do they connect?"
Realize how that was confusing with how I wrote it. As a kid, I brick built one. As a kid, my wife had Exxon and built that. Now that we are married, my brick built is gone and we have hers.
Now we have a Lego Town, Lego City, and Lego Crazy Expensive Modular city. Ironically, me and my wife only had 1 set that we each owned as a kid. Otherwise, we had quite different collections.
Legendary set. Would buy from a friend at the age of 13 again. 10/10
@AustinPowers said:
" @Dean_Dingus_2000 said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"291 pieces.
For a complete service station and vehicle and baseplate.
291 pieces.
Let that sink in for a moment.
These days such a set would be five times the pieces, yet only be a tiny facade and of course wouldn't include a baseplate.
I know why I prefer the olden days. "
So you would pay 75 dollars for this set then?"
Actually the RRP of this set would be about equivalent to 75 Dollars today.
And yes, I would pay it any day of the week, because it's more than worth it. Contrary to many of today's sets in that price bracket.
And don't compare with the F1 helmets. Apples and oranges indeed. "
Yeah I know, thats why I said that. Thats the point, this rinky dink set would have cost 75 dollars today. They have made better gas station sets that cost less, multiple times at this point
Love that jack piece, I purchased one just recently.
@Tobywan said:
"Love that jack piece, I purchased one just recently."
I only had the one in 6561, but I wish I'd gotten my hands on more.